Valenciennes Attractions 
The industrial town of Valenciennes (pop. 42,343), once famed as a lace-making center, lies in the center of a coalfield near the Belgian frontier. It was the birthplace of the painter Antoine Watteau (1684-1721).
13km/8mi north of Valenciennes is the old fortified town of Condé-sur- l'Escaut, with a castle built in 1410.
The site of the town has had military importance since even Roman times. Located at the confluence of two rivers provided the name from a Celtic word meaning "confluence".
Address:
Valenciennes Tourist Office, 1 rue Askièvre, F-59300 Valenciennes, France
Its main features of interest are the Musée des Beaux-Arts, with a fine collection of Flemish, Dutch, Italian and French paintings, the neo-Romanesque pilgrimage church of Notre Dame du St Cordon (1852-1865) and the church of St-Géry, built in 1225 but altered in later centuries.
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